The Mech Touch novel Chapter 61

Ves was not immersed in the whole shuttle racing scene. As someone focused on mechs his entire life, the sleek personal transport shuttles that were capable of both atmospheric and space flight held little appeal to him. That did not mean others found them unworthy of their time.

In fact, lots of norms worshipped shuttles. They paid fanatical attention to each newly released shuttles and liked to customize and tinker their own vehicles in their free time. Adding some decorative lighting was just one of the ways a fanatic distinguished himself among his peers.

He looked over some footage on the galactic net and found it to be a basic concept. It could be as simple as adding a few colored stripes to adding in an elaborate artistic pattern. It impressed Ves that these hobbyists cobbled up evocative looks for their shuttles.

"I won’t be able to get Vincent’s approval if I half-ass this job."

The best-looking vehicles didn’t necessarily have the most lights. Instead, the artists who customized them used patterns and other artistic tricks to maximize the impact of each streak of light. If Ves wanted to keep up, he had to be a little inventive.

"Hm, what would fit my Marc Antony?"

He left the galactic net and opened the mech design program. As a software developed by the MTA itself, it possessed elaborate features. Still, they were not on par with the Mech Designer System’s own suite except for the projectors. The MTA’s design studio incorporated high quality projection systems that could bring any image to life.

When the imposing image of the Marc Antony appeared in the middle of the room, Ves circled the projection and slowly considered his ideas.

The mech looked like an armored soldier. With its vapor-generated helmet crest and heavy rectangular shield, it looked purpose-built for war. Ves also chuckled to himself that it looked quite dashing. What he had to do now was to figure out a way to enhance the mech’s cool factor without being too overboard. Luckily, most lighting systems are cheap and don’t require a license. After all, they were mainly made to customize shuttles.

"Getting my hands on a suitable lighting system isn’t hard. What’s a little harder is that their toughness sucks."

He faced the same problem as with the cape. These kinds of accoutrements just weren’t designed to accommodate a fighting machine. While there were a few systems designed for traffic control or rescue mechs that possessed a little more reinforcement, they fell short when put into active combat situations.

"Maybe I’ve been influenced too much by the way these lighting systems are applied to shuttles. I don’t have to follow the exact same scheme for my mech."

He considered designing a standard scheme as well as add something extra. As a mech accumulated damage, it generally looked worse. In order to placate Vincent in the event he ended up in a real battle, Ves decided to use that property to add internal lighting that wouldn’t be visible unless the armor got torn open.

As Ves knew his design best, he already had an idea how to structure the internal lighting. He had no trouble marking out many small areas where a small but powerful light source could be placed.

As the lights didn’t really suck up that much energy compared to other systems, Ves didn’t even bother with adding power cables to keep them running. Instead, he added wireless power transmitters nestled deeper in the mech to provide power without relying on delicate and easily damaged cabling.

To be certain it matched Vincent’s standard of coolness, Ves tested out his change. When Ves used the design program’s simulation module to simulate accumulating damage, he found the mech to be glowing increasingly red from the cracks in its armor. Against the backdrop of the mech’s predominantly black coating, the ominous red glow enhanced the menacing aura.

Inspired by this savage look, Ves took up a sketching program and drafted a couple of lines on the mech’s wireframe model. He predominately added jagged lines, akin to the stylized lightning bolts on the shield which he also sketched over with some light streaks. He colored it mostly red except for the lights on the shield, which were shaded a bright yellow.

When Ves stepped back and let the design program simulate the lighting scheme, he was impressed by his own work. The light scheme enhanced the ancient warrior theme of his mech. The sharpness of the jagged, diagonal lines gave the mech the impression that it was a war god descended from the heavens.

"Hm, though it looks good, I’m not sure if Vincent will like it. He has a very discerning taste."

To be safe, Ves spent an entire day wracking his brain for alternate design patterns. He slept, ate and showered at the room’s basic living facilities but spent the rest of his time crunching his brain. Lucky got so bored that Ves activated the guide program to release a projected ball that flew around erratically for his cat to chase around.

His hard work allowed him to come up with a few viable looking designs. He made a white lightning bolt pattern to evoke a lightning god feel and a green curving pattern to contrast nicely with the red accents. He finished his design session by forming a yellow pattern that evoked speed.

As he projected the different lighting schemes side by side, he had to admit that while they did the job, they fell short of greatness. Ves simply lacked the practice and proficiency to go beyond the basic one-color lighting schemes. Mixing two or three colors together in a harmonious whole was a lot more difficult than he thought.

"If Vincent is really dissatisfied by my attempts, he should just hire his own artist." He concluded. As someone who looked familiar with the shuttle racing scene, Vincent must have his own contacts.

He sent the sketches to Vincent and called it a day. He’d been staying in the design studio for more than a day now. Thinking of all the trouble he went through so far, he hoped Vincent was good for the money when Ves finally delivered his product.

After stepping out of the design studio, he called up an automatic guide that led him to the MTA’s visitor cafeteria. Just because he ate some instant rations didn’t mean he appreciated them. He looked forward to grabbing a more proper bite.

As thousands of pilots, designers and technicians visited the MTA each day in Dorum, its dining facilities were top notch. Those with more discerning tastes could enter the nearby restaurant while those who were fine with cheaper food prepared by the best bots visited the cafeteria. As Ves picked a couple of his favorite meats, he took a random seat and started to dig in.

Just as he finished chewing, a firm hand clapped his back.

"Ves! What a surprise to see you here!"

Ves turned around and saw a young woman he hadn’t seen since his last visit to Bentheim. "Charlotte?"

Charlotte Hoffmeister grinned as she bumped the seat next to him and hopped on it. She dropped her plate of food with a small clatter, causing bits and pieces of food to spill to the side.

"We haven’t been in touch for a while. So what are you up to?"

He shrugged. "I’m in the process of customizing my first commercial variant mech for a client. I recently completed a sale a few weeks ago and now I’m here to meet the needs of my second client."

Charlotte raised her eyebrow in appreciation as she gnawed at her chicken drumstick. "Looks like your business is already up and running. That’s nice. There’s way too many dumbasses who think they’re all that but flounder when they finally start on their own."

"I was luckier than most." Ves said reservedly, not wanting to disparage his fellow designers. After all, before the System came he was one of them. "I’m not doing great, but I’m sure I can overcome my troubles if I work hard enough."

"That’s the spirit!" Charlotte pounded the table with her palm. "Look at me. Despite coming up second to a side tournament, I’m one of only three new recruits for the MTA’s Enforcement Division from this year’s graduating class!"

Ves wasn’t bothered by the thoughts of others. "If they think they can do better, then let them start their own businesses." _{freeweɓnovēl.coɱ}